Two Quinoa Recipes

Cooked quinoa is a great staple for morning times. Quinoa is a grain-like crop grown for its edible seeds. In 1000BC the Andean people of south America started producing this staple which would form an important part of their diet, even if unknown to the rest of the world.

Two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
One garlic clove, finely sliced
Two large kale leaves. Throw away the stems and shred finely.
Half a cup of perfectly cooked Quinoa (see below for how to cook this)
Sea salt (coarse)
Freshly ground black pepper
One Poached Egg
One Scallion, the light green and white parts only and finely slice them
Cooking the perfectly cooked Quinoa

Quinoa cooks quickly and is a great blank canvas to add additional dressings or ingredients. Use less than 2:1 ratio of water while the Quinoa rests.

1) Rinse Quinoa well in a strainer. Be very thorough. You are trying to remove the soapy coating on the Quinoa that does not taste well.

2) Boil water over high heat and add the Quinoa. Bring to the boil.

3) Lower the heat, cover the pot well and wait for the water to absorb into the Quinoa. Odd looking spirals might appear on the bottom of the pot and this is normal, it is just the germs from the Quinoa.

4) Turn heat off and place a dry towel between the pot lid and the pot itself. This is used for absorption.

5) Wait 5 minutes and then stir gently with a fork

Cooking the remaining ingredients for quite savory Quinoa

Fire up a medium heat and add the garlic and oil to a skillet. The garlic will soften in around one minute. The kale you prepared earlier can be added now. The kale will take around another 2-3 minutes to cook while you stir occasionally.

Add the Quinoa you prepared earlier and bring the ingredients to be warmed through thoroughly for another two minutes. For seasoning, salt and pepper will do well. Finally, take the contents from the skillet and pop it into a shallow bowl. You can add a poached or fried egg to the top if you like. Sprinkle the scallions we prepared earlier all over the top also. Some black pepper as a final touch is great.

A Sweeter Recipe

If your tooth is sweeter, you could change the above ingredients slightly. This recipe is vegan friendly and still just as Protein-packed.

Instead of using half a cup of Quinoa, for this recipe we will need around ¾ a cup. We’ll also need:

Half a cup of unsweetened almond milk
Sliced toasted almonds
Maple syrup – just a drizzle
A sliced date
Chopped banana
Dried figs (chopped)
Walnuts (toasted)
Fresh blueberries
Unsweetened shredded coconut
Mix the Quinoa and almond milk in a pan and place under a medium level heat. Warm this through for a couple of minutes, two or three should do. You should then move the mixture to a shallow bowl and add whichever of the above ingredients take your fancy!

This post was written by Sevy who writes for Vietnamtravelnotes.com an Asian Travel Blog